Sermon Audio, Calvary Community Church, Williams Bay, WI

This is it... the most important weekend in the history of our planet. The events involving Jesus Christ this weekend nearly 2,000 years ago form the hinge point of eternal destiny for every human being! Yet Jesus’ own disciples called it “nonsense” when they first heard! What about you? “Nonsense”? Or the foundation of your “New Life”?

From quiet Walworth County to the huge "megacities" of Asia and Africa, seven billion people approach Easter week 2013. For most of humanity, it's just another week of frantic existence. For God, it's the most important week on the human calendar. How significant is this week to each of us? What difference could it make to live "Easter Hope" every day?

We all have one... we all carry one... we are all identified by one... after birth we were all given one... A NAME. So what is it about the name we carry? What happens when we see the new normal as carrying a new name? After all, our theme verse declares that once we encounter Jesus we are a new creation... so what name am I given to carry? The answer to this question will shape the way we live the new normal!

As Easter 2013 approaches, from every corner of our world comes the question: is there such a thing as reliable, unchanging truth? In American society, as our foundation of rock solid truth crumbles under the weight of "politically correct" opinion and "tolerance," where do we point the next generation for the truth stability needed to build their future?

With modern technology, we are accustomed to near instant communication with almost anyone in the world. “Dropped calls” or “dead cell zones” frustrate us. So how accessible is God to you? As busy as God is, keeping the entire universe in balance and sustaining seven billion people, does He really have the time or even care about our call to Him? By not calling out to God, what are we missing?

The greatest privilege and responsibility of every human generation is producing and preparing “the next generation.” With the demise and dysfunction of so many families and ethnic cleansing and civil war ravaging so many nations, what is God’s New Normal for His people as a new generation of children searches for hope in such a broken world?

In a world where the gap between the rich and poor seems wider by the day and 2 billion people seek to survive on less than $2.00 per day, the privilege of living life as fully resourced “ambassadors of Christ” is staggering. But with this wonderful privilege comes enormous responsibility. What is God’s “new normal” vision for His ambassadors living as generous, joyful, stewards of His limitless bounty?

The epitome of American sports extravagance, the Super Bowl, draws the attention of the sporting world this weekend. But athletic championships pale in comparison to serious life and death realities in Egypt, Syria, Mali, Algeria, Afghanistan, even Chicago. In the battle raging for humanity, God calls upon His “new creations in Christ” to rise up, live as victorious champions in the strength He provides, and defeat the suffocating darkness that is destroying our world.

Far beyond the promises of politicians or well-intentioned philanthropists, God reaches to our broken world with an unbelievable offer…”living a miracle,” His miracle, every day! He has designed you for it; He has made it possible: and He is prepared to bring it to reality in any “new creation in Christ.” Could it be you? What could “living a miracle” be like in your life, for the rest of your life?

Is it possible that the Almighty God could make Himself known those who have become new creations? Could that really be the plan? How can we see our roles and our lives in such a way that we make God appealing?